Colorado Avalanche & NHL

Wells: Fort Morgan in 'healthy' shape as city

State of city: Part 1 of 2

By Jenni Grubbs

Times Staff Writer

Posted:
02/17/2014 10:33:34 AM MST

Click photo to enlarge

The flood in September 2013 left the path in Fort Morgan's Riverside Park along the South Platte River covered in water for days after much of the heaviest flood waters receded. Recovery work in the park may be completed by the one-year anniversary of the flood, according to Fort Morgan City Manager Jeff Wells.

FORT MORGAN — — Fort Morgan City Manager Jeff Wells gave his annual report to the Fort Morgan City Council last Tuesday, telling them that the city had made "substantial progress" or completed many large capital projects.

"I think that the organization as a whole is healthy," Wells said.

In what amounts to his "state of the city" address, Wells shared "a few highlights of what I think we've been able to do in the last year in the city of Fort Morgan."

Flood

Perhaps the biggest major project for the city in 2013 was dealing with the flood and its aftermath, Wells said.

"In September, the city was hit by an historic flood event," he said. "The water from the South Platte breached its banks, and in the process destroyed many of the amenities in Riverside Park."

He said that city staff had done well in tackling the flood and everything that came with it.

"During the event, city staff set the standard in leadership by assuring the safety of persons and property while assisting other agencies with needs during the flood," he said. "Within a few months, parts of the park were reopened, and full restoration is planned by the one-year anniversary of the floods.

"Of all the things we've been able to do this year, one of the things I am most proud of as far as our employees and our staff are concerned is how we responded to the flood," Wells said. "I can go into a lot of stories of how staff went above and beyond to make sure people and property were safe during the flood, but what I appreciated the most was how we came together as a team and made sure things worked well in the city and how we were able to assist other agencies around us that needed our assistance and our resources, including the state."

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He said the city helped the Colorado Department of Transportation and various other state agencies during and after the flood.

"I think the great thing about living in Morgan County is we're a community as a county, and we help each other out," Wells said. "We were the only bridge open for 100 miles east and west within a day after the flood. I don't know all the stories on how that ended up, but we had guys down there, local contractors down there, cleaning out the bridge and making sure it was passable and safe and kept it from damming up and causing additional damage."

"As a team and as a community, I think a government is only as good as they are in responding to an emergency," Wells said. "If we can't respond to an emergency and help citizens, then we're basically useless."

He said that while the normal, day-to-day business in the city is very important, dealing with an emergency is where a city's strength shows.

"I can resoundingly say and report to council that we did an excellent job," Well said.

Quiet zones

The city also completed construction on the quiet zones project, which led to almost no train whistles anymore in the city starting in early 2014.

"For the past five years, staff has been working with BNSF to put quiet zones at all six railroad crossings in the city," he said. "In November 2013, crossing improvements were completed and the city of Fort Morgan is now the only city in the state with quiet zones on all crossings within the city. We also have more quiet zones than any other city in the state."

He said that was something that would make residents' life a little better.

"I'm also very proud of the quiet zones," Wells said. "It was a long time coming, and I think it does make a very big difference in quality of life."

Community engagement

"You can see a few projects that have come about directly because of community engagement," he said, pointing to the Dahms-Talton Band Shell in City Park, which was funded by community donations.

But he also pointed out that much of the work to make things better in the city was less visible, such as the efforts of the Recreation Ad Hoc Committee to evaluate and make suggestions for improving the city's recreational offerings both this year and for the future. That committee's recommendations have already started to be put in place.

"I think one of the other things that we have been very fortunate to have are the number of volunteers and people who have gone out to support what we do in our recreation programs," Wells said.

He also recognized all of the volunteers who help at Fort Morgan Museum and everyone who donated to make the exhibits redesign project happen.

"Generous donations from Fort Morgan's Heritage Foundation have made the renovations and updates to the Fort Morgan Museum possible," he said. "The new exhibits bring the past to life, but the most impressive aspect of the project is that most of the funding is coming from philanthropic donations."

The city also worked with residents to gather ideas and feedback on the issue of retail marijuana, holding ward meetings, and found that local folks did not want such establishments in the city, he said.

"We've really tried to connect with the community and what they want," Wells said.

He said he was happy with how the city worked with and both got and then used the feedback and involvement from residents.

"We've done a very good job, I think, of engaging the public," he said.